Elements
by Skovko
Summary: Three weeks ago AJ met Zara at a bar and they've been together since. He doesn't really know anything about her but he knows that he likes being with her. One night three men approach them in an alley. They clearly know her and want her to come with them. She won't give in and suddenly she raises her hand and AJ watches in shock as she seems to control the elements.
1. Wind and water

AJ looked at Zara and couldn't help but smile. Her dark brown hair that reached just below her ears was a mess and spread around the pillow. Her hair was actually the reason for his pet name for her since it always looked like a mess.

"Morning troll," he said and leaned in to kiss her shoulder.

She smiled but kept her eyes closed.

"I'm still sleeping," she said.  
"Really?" He asked as he started running his hand up her thigh.

Her eyes flew opened.

"Not fair," she said and bit her lip.  
"Why don't you stop me then?" He asked before kissing her, his hand still moving up until it landed between her legs.

It had been three wild weeks since they met the first time at a bar. He had felt drawn to her right away and he felt like the luckiest man on earth when he woke up next morning with her next to him in his bed. It hadn't been an awkward morning with her as a one night stand usually was. It had felt natural. One morning had turned to another and here they were three weeks later. She still hadn't left and he didn't want her to.

He wasn't even sure if she had anywhere to go. She had a packpack with her that night at the bar. He quickly learned she kept some clothes in it. During the three weeks she had bought some extra clothes and kept it in his apartment. She didn't seem to own anything else and he didn't like to ask. He just allowed her to stay. He felt good when she was around so he didn't care if she was homeless. She could stay.

Come to think about it, he actually didn't know much about her. He knew her name was Zara, he knew that she was 27 years old, he knew her body inside out, and most importantly he knew that she had been his for three weeks now. Everything else would come slowly in time. He was sure of it. He knew she was holding back a lot but he figured she would learn to trust him completely over time and open up. Whatever secrets she might hide in there, he would be able to take. He just had to because he also knew that he didn't want to lose her.

"So," he said as he watched her put on her underwear. "The guys have invited us out for drinks tonight."  
"Miniskirt then," she said as she found it in the closet.

He sucked in his breath as he watched her put it on.

"You know just how to tease me," he said.  
"Of course. Now, red or green top?" She asked and held up both.  
"Definately green," he answered.

Once fully dress she walked over to stand between his legs. His hands went up her legs and stopped under her skirt while he ran his fingers over her ass.

"You know I'm gonna have a boner all night just by watching you like this," he said and squeezed her ass.  
"That was the plan," she said and ran her fingers through his hair.  
"Can't wait till we get back home so I can tear it from your body and have my way with you," he said.  
"Better make that a promise," she said.

If he had known he wouldn't be able to keep that promise, he would have torn her clothes off her right then and there and had his way with her. He would have made her stay at home with him and never left to meet his friends. But none of them had the ability to see into the future so they left his apartment in a cheerful mood.

The hours they spent in the bar went fine. His friends were cool around her and they all had fun. Drinks went down and everyone was laughing and enjoying each other's company.

"I need some air," she said.  
"I'll go with you," he said.

They went outside and he took her hand. They walked side by side into an alley close by for a few moments alone. He pulled her close, placed his hands on her hips and kissed her.

"You're driving me crazy, troll," he whispered.

"Zara!" A voice suddenly pulled them back to reality.  
AJ took a step to the side and they both looked at the bald man standing in the alley.  
"Fuck!" She growled and raised her hand.  
"Don't even think about it," he warned.

At the same time two other men walked in to join the first man.

"Not now... please..." She begged.  
"You know we have to. Come with us willingly," he said.

She looked at them, knowing she only had little time to make up her mind. She should go with them and then AJ would be safe but she couldn't. Not again. She knew what was waiting for her. All those tests, all that pain. They experimented on her, trying to figure out why she could do what she could and they never got any closer to an answer. She didn't even know why she was born like that. She would give it all up if she could if it meant she would be left alone by these men. She escaped them once. She wasn't about to go back to that place.

She pushed AJ to the side to keep him out of it.

"What the hell?" He asked and took a step towards her again.

She raised her hand in his direction and a wind blew him backwards, making him hit the brick wall.

"Shit!" She hissed.  
The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.

"Zara, stop it," the bald man said.  
She turned her attention back to him. She raised her hand again.  
"Zara, don't. I'm warning you. You know we'll keep coming and we'll win. Just give up and come with us now," he said.  
"Never again," she whispered, more to herself than to them.

AJ's eyes widened as he watched her create what looked like a waterball in her hand out of thin air. How was that even possible? Was he really that drunk that he was starting to see weird things like this?

"Zara!" The man growled.  
"Fuck you!" She growled back.

She sent the waterball flying through the air. AJ watched as all three men went down on their backs, clearly struggling with breathing before they finally laid still on the ground. She fell to her knees with a little scream and placed her hands on her head. He got up and walked towards her slowly, not sure if he should be scared of her or not. As he reached her, he crouched down next to her and saw she was bleeding from her nose.

"You're bleeding," he said.  
"I know," she said and wiped her nose the the back of her hand. "Fuck, my head hurts."

He looked at the three men lying on the ground.

"What happened?" He asked confused.  
"They drowned," she answered.  
"How?" He asked.  
"I don't have time to explain right now. We need to go before they come looking for them," she answered.  
"Who? Talk to me, Zara," he said.  
"Not now. Just come with me before they get here," she pleaded as she took his hand, got to her feet and started dragging him out of the alley.


	2. Fire and earth

"Shit, shit, shit!" She hissed as soon as they entered AJ's apartment.

She ran to the bedroom and started packing her backpack with whatever little clothes could fit in there.

"Zara..." She heard his voice but didn't answer.

She just kept packing. It wasn't until he was suddenly next to her, taking her hand, that she stopped and looked at him.

"Please, talk to me," he pleaded.

She looked into his eyes. He looked so worried.

"Fuck!" She let out and ran a hand through her hair. "I never meant for you to get caught up in this."  
"But I am so talk to me. Please, troll," he pleaded.  
"You saw what happened back there. Bad men are out to get me. I need to get away fast. If they found me here, they know who you are too. I can't put you any more danger," she said.

He looked at her for three seconds.

"I'm coming with you," he said firmly.  
"No, AJ, it's too dangerous," she said.  
"I'm coming with you. It's not up for discussion," he said.

He walked over to the closet to start packing his own backpack. Her eyes filled with tears when she realized this man was willing to give up everything in his life to go on the run with her.

"AJ, I won't lie to you. You will lose me. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in three months, I don't know. All I know is that at some point I either go back there or I die. No matter the outcome, you will lose me," she said.  
"I know," he said and dropped his shoulders.

He turned around, walked over to her, grabbed her head and kissed her softly.

"But not tonight. And if I lose you tomorrow already, at least I'll get one more night with you. Please, don't deny me whatever little precious time we have left," he said.  
"I won't," she whispered and kissed him.

It was in that moment she knew what she had to do, that she had to end this, not for her own sake but for his sake. A few minutes later they sat in his car, driving away from the town.

"So you can create the elements? All of them?" He asked.  
"Yeah," she answered.  
"So you can create rain whenever you want?" He asked.  
"No, it doesn't work like that. I can only do one thing with each element and it hurts me everytime and gets worse depending on which element I choose," she answered.  
"Like what?" He asked.  
"You saw wind and water today. Wind is easy. It only gives me a headache. You already learned the hard way that I can create a wind to knock you backwards. And you saw my waterball. That one gives me nosebleed," she answered.

He nodded, waiting for her to go on.

"Then there's fireballs. They cause bleeding too, more bleeding though. And earth... I don't go there," she said.  
"Why not?" He asked.  
"I tried once. I created the smallest earthquake possible and it knocked me out completely for a couple of hours. I woke up with blood in my entire face. It had been running out of every possible hole in my head. The earthquake was barely big enough for me to put my foot in it. I never tried that again," she answered.

He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, processing all the information she had just given him.

"If it's too much, just drop me off on the nearest train station," she said.  
"No no, not too much. I just need a little time to understand it all. I won't let you go though," he said.  
"It's not a blessing, you know," she said.

He turned his head to look at her briefly.

"Those men seem to think it's a blessing. They think I can be some sort of secret weapon in wars. But it's not a blessing. It's a freaking curse. I never asked to be like this. I don't wanna be this way. I don't wanna be able to do these things," she said and started crying.

He reached over, grabbed her hand and brought it to his lips.

"I knew the moment I laid eyes on you three weeks ago that you were special. Not because of any stupid powers but because of who you are. You are beautiful inside and out," he said.  
"God, AJ, why did I have to meet you? I've been roaming around for so long now, just crashing at places of people I met at bars. You were only supposed to be that too but you sucked me right in with one look," she said.  
"Maybe that's a good thing. You've been on the run for so long. Wasn't it nice with a little break and the feeling of normality? The feeling of someone caring about you?" He asked.  
"You have no idea how nice," she said and smiled.  
"Oh, I think I do. I was there too," he said and chuckled.

They drove most of the night. He went wherever she told him to without asking any questions. He later wished he had. If he had known what she was deliberately planning to do, he would have gone in the complete opposite direction.

They checked in on a cheap motel and immetiately went to bed. She took her time kissing him, holding him, running her hands on his body, making love to him. She just needed to feel him so close and he wasn't about to ever let her go if he could have his way.

He woke up next morning and saw that she was already out of bed and dressed. She looked nervous as she looked down on him. He sat up, took her hand and dragged her to stand between his legs as he so oftened had done before.

"What's bothering you, troll?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her and looked up at her.  
"I'm gonna go finish this once and for all," she answered.  
"What do you mean?" He asked.  
"I'm going to war," she answered.

He stood up quickly, his arms still around her as he pulled her into his chest.

"I'm coming with you," he said.  
"No," she said.  
"I'm not giving you a choice. I'm coming with you," he said.

She knew she couldn't argue with him. She had learned over the three weeks together that he could be a very stubborn man. She nodded into his chest, not able to say any words in the moment. This man was willing to go to war with her. It meant more than anything else.

He took her hand the moment they left the car. She could feel he was nervous even though he didn't say it out loud. They walked towards the big metal gate and stopped in front of it.

"Now what?" He asked.  
"Now we wait," she answered.  
"Do we ring a bell or something?" He asked.  
"They know we're here," she answered, pointing to one of the many cameras surrounding the area.

She was right. Not many seconds passed before the gate opened. AJ took a step forward but she held on tight to his hand, forcing him to stay in the spot. He looked at her confused.

"If we go past that gate, we're never getting out again," she said.  
"So what do we do?" He asked.  
"We wait. They'll be out in seconds," she answered.

As on cue men starting running towards them. They all stopped and pointed guns at them. She pushed AJ behind her.

"They won't shoot me so stay behind me," she said.

"Zara, I knew you'd come home eventually," a man spoke and took a step forward.  
"Home? This place was never my home. It was my prison," she said.  
"Come on in and let's talk about it," he said.  
"Talk about it? Since when do you talk? All you do is running your painful experiments on me, not caring if I try to talk or if I scream in pain," she said.

She felt AJ tighten his grib on her hips when he heard her say that.

"AJ, get it together," she whispered.

A new row of men came running out, standing behind the men with gun.

"Shit, tasers," she mumbled.  
"Why?" AJ asked confused.  
"I can't do shit if I'm lying on the ground shaking in pain," she answered.  
"What do we do?" He asked.  
"Create a diversion," she answered.

She raised her hand and created a fireball.

"Zara, you know just as well as we do that your fireballs can never take out this many people," the man said.

She knew and she wasn't planning on taking anyone out with it. She sent it flying into a nearby tree instead. The tree instantly went into flames.

She fell to her knees with a scream, planting both of her hands on her head. AJ put his hands under her arms and helped her back up. He looked at her face and saw blood running from her nose and mouth.

"Shit, Zara, it looks bad," he said scared.  
"I know," she said short of breath. "But look. Some of them have to run to get fire extinguishers before the fire speads."

He watched as a few men was running back inside and the others were still watching the fire rather than them. It was in that moment he knew what she had to do. He had to let her go. He wrapped his arms tightly around her from behind to keep her standing.

"You do what you gotta do," he said.

She turned her head to the side and looked at him. He bowed his head down to give her a kiss. Her fingers ran over his hands that were locked together around her stomach.

"I love you, troll," he whispered. "Take them down. I won't let you go."  
"I love you too," she said. "As soon as you can, you run like hell without looking back. Get the fuck away from here. I can't take down the entire facility but these men out here will never hurt anyone again."

She raised both her hands and he watched stunned as the ground beneath the men started shaking. He heard her screaming and felt how her legs gave way under her. He kept her standing, refusing to let go. He looked down in horror as he saw how blood started running out her nose, mouth, eyes and ears, but she was still awake. The ground split in two and the sound of many men screaming at the same time filled the air as they disappeared down into the ground.

She collapsed in his arms, her body suddenly dead weight. He looked down at her, his troll, the woman that had turned his world upside down in three weeks, and he slowly lowered her to the ground. He ran his hand down her cheek one last time and then he ran like hell and never looked back. He jumped into his car and sped away as fast as he could, taking one last glimpse at her dead body in the rear view mirror.


End file.
